Monday, 26 May 2014

Another one of those albums where cover and content do not quite add up - but upon playing it for the fist time I was just as happy to discover the unexpected. By 1975 reggae was gaining huge traction in urban South Africa - the message and the 60s ska residues made for a perfect fit. In real terms though, the marketing departments pretty much got ahead of the local musicians.

This album is not reggae, but three tracks of looping, loping bump jive and disco soul, to be filed on the same digital shelf that contains the best that Movers and the Nzimande All Stars were producing around the same time. Later this year I will share another "Reggae Revolution" album from 1976 which is more funk and soul than reggae, but tasty nonetheless.

The first track "Reggae Special" is more than ten minutes of lead-guitar and sax-led, bass-fed elliptical, funky off-centre driving bump-jive rhythm. "Springbok Dance" starts off almost exactly like that much-loved Bump Jive No. 6 from the Movers in which all the members of the band are introduced. Soon enough it swings into a more soul-centred funky guitar-led instrumental. "Bump Jive No 3" picks up on the overall theme. This is a clean and clear recording. Get it and enjoy it while you can.

Monday, 19 May 2014

Especially for you Manzo: Following on from Siemon's April posts of "Modern Sax Stars" featuring the Intuthuko Brothers in the guise of Abafana Intuthuko and Hansford Mthembu in 1967, and the 1976 "Stars of Africa" herewith a 1974 offering from this talented and mellow outfit.

Hansford Mthembu (the spelling on the album cover is a misprint) was a pretty special guitarist. He also leads on the "Amagugu" album featured on Electric Jivehere. At that time he was married to Amagugu singer Francine Thopi Mnguni, previously with Izintombi Zesi Manje Manje. Mthembu also went on to produce recordings by theKings Messengers Quartet in the 1980s, and regularly played guitar for multiple bands assembled by West Nkosi.

Monday, 12 May 2014

Compilations are the focus of a feature in the latest issue of UK magazine The Wire - a number of writers and commentators weigh in on revisionism, archiving, chronologies, lists and other topics. The first internationally released compilation of South African music, "Soweto" (on the West German label Zensor from 1982), gets a mention. Despite forging access to so-called "authentic" songs for international listeners after the hype of Malcolm McLaren's dalliance with mbaqanga it is this compilation from 1985 on the Harlequin label that continues to enjoy a "marker" status as the first LP compiling some of the earliest jazz from South Africa issued on the LP format. Until this album was issued you would have had great difficulty in listening to this legacy unless you were a 78 collector.

There remains an incredible legacy of South African jazz, marabi, boogie and jive still locked away on 78s gathering dust on collectors shelves. Until someone sorts out this travesty (and at Electric Jive we certainly try to unlock as many as we can) we will have to rely on compilations such as these which are now sadly out of print. For more in this genre do explore Soul Safari's Township Jive and Kwela Jazz which has brought a number of these compositions back into print.

This compilation was part of a series that Harlequin completed covering early jazz in a number of outlying countries. Reproduced liner notes are available at flatinternational. Enjoy!

Monday, 5 May 2014

Another forgotten story of South Africa's rich musical stream is that of exiled guitarist Temba Matebese. Whilst the record being shared today comes from 1987 the early bits of the story begin back in 1975 when Temba worked as the music consultant on The Wilby Conspiracy. Just a year later in 1976 Temba was in Lagos working with Lekan Animashum and Tunde Williams on the LP Temba and T-Fire's No Stop Dis Music. A second LP, T-Fire's The New Testament and production credits on Basa Basa's Homowo from 1983 are also noted before this album was recorded in Lagos in 1987 and released in the UK on Mother Africa records. T-Fire's track Will of the People from The New Testament was comped on the Soundway album Nigeria Disco Funk Special.

Aside from that not a lot more information can be gleaned on the elusive Temba Matebese...perhaps not William Onyeabor but if anyone has more information we would love to hear more.

Uwandile - Apartheid (MALP01, 1987)
1. The Breaker
2. Apartheid
3. And this thing gets you down
4. Thumela
5. Where It All Began
6. Izenzo
7. Forever this TimeLinks removed due to impending licensed reissue.